Yes, Shih can! Hong Kong-born entrepreneur returns to city to set up financial social media firm

When US tech entrepreneurs Clara Shih Chong-wai first set up her social media marketing company Hearsay Social, people would often mistake her as her partner’s secretary. With 22 markets under her belt – Hong Kong being the latest addition – she has now shown how women can overcome all odds and run successful ventures.

“I was born in Hong Kong and I am delighted to be back to open an office here. Hong Kong is a great city for social media and technology start-ups,” Shih told the South China Morning Post, adding that although she migrated with her family to Chicago when she was only four, she has always considered Hong Kong as her real home.

Hearsay Social, which she co-founded with university friend Steve Garrity in the US in 2009, is targeted at financial institutions such as insurance companies and banks to help their agents and salespeople use all types of digital platforms from email to facebook and twitter to promote their products and services.

“Hong Kong is a major international financial centre with many banks and insurance companies that require our social media marketing services,” she said. “We have met a number of senior executives of several financial firms and they are very interested in our services,” she said.

Despite the economic slowdown in Hong Kong, she thinks it is a great time to open an office here.

“When the economy is bad, people think of insurance protection. In addition, it is in times like these that companies need to use more innovative methods to promote their businesses. We are taking a very long-term view, so I am not worried about a short-term slowdown.”

Shih was born in an academic family. Her father was a professor at Baptist University while her mother taught arts in secondary school. The family migrated to the US in 1986, where her parents studied and worked hard to fit into their new world.